A woman is living in terror after learning that her father – jailed for abusing her as a child and then again for raping her as an adult when out on licence – could soon be set free.
Vikki Bigwood, 29, was repeatedly sexually abused by vile dad David Bigwood from the age of four right through primary school.
He was finally jailed for a catalogue of sex crimes against her and other children – only to be released from a 10-year sentence after just seven years. And, when he got out, the predator tracked her down and raped her.
Now Vikki has learned Bigwood, 54, has already been up for release again, despite being given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years.
She lives in fear that he will be freed within months – and come for her again. She says: “People need to know who he is and what he is. He is a sicko. He doesn’t deserve to be on this planet.
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PA)Image:
© INS News Agency Ltd)"Life should mean life. If he is released, I’m scared of it happening again. And there are other kids out there and other women he will find. He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.”
Rape Crisis CEO Jayne Butler said: “It is unacceptable that repeat violent offenders who clearly pose a threat to women and girls are offered leniency, while those they have sexually abused face a lifetime of trauma.”
The horrific abuse, which has left Vikki with PTSD, anxiety and depression, began when she was very young.
Her mum, who has since died, was “not on the scene”, and her dad began touching her “whenever he had the chance”.
Vikki, who has bravely waived her right to anonymity, says: “He would do it before school, after school, after football.
“It happened every day. He would tell me to keep quiet. I was scared and frightened. I used to be a happy kid, playing football with my mates, and then when that started, I was really quiet.”
In her first year at secondary school, Vikki confided in someone, who told a teacher, and Bigwood was arrested on the school run.
He was convicted in May 2006 at Reading Crown Court of 19 sexual offences against victims under 16, including Vikki, and in June 2007 was sentenced to 10 years.
Aged 11, Vikki was placed in foster care. She says: “I didn’t have a childhood. He took that away.”
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Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)Image:
Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)Bigwood was released on licence in 2013. But his daughter says she didn’t know. She adds: “The only reason I knew was because someone saw him in a shop and they told me, in around 2014.”
After leaving school, Vikki started working as a carer and tried to rebuild her shattered life. In December 2016 she was 24 and living with her then-boyfriend in a shared house when Bigwood contacted her, telling her he had some mail to pass on.
She says: “I met him on the street, wearing my carer’s uniform. I thought I could trust him and give him the opportunity to be a dad again and give him the benefit of the doubt.”
But, while on the street, Bigwood said to her: “I wonder what you would look like with just your tunic on.”
The fiend said he needed to go to the toilet. Vikki let him into the shared houseand went into her bedroom. When her partner – who had no idea about her traumatic past – left for work, Bigwood followed her into the bedroom and started touching her. She tried to resist but Bigwood attacked and raped her.
She says: “I froze. I was terrified.” One of the housemates overheard the attack and phoned the police. But the damage was already done.
Vikki says: “I was building my life back when he was in prison and then he came out. My head was all over the place. It affected everything.
“I felt suicidal. I felt like I couldn’t turn to anyone. It brought back all the memories of when I was a kid. My relationship broke down after that. I felt so angry that I had let him back into my life.”
In 2017 she came face to face with her rapist once more at Reading Crown Court.
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Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)She says: “The first thing he did was look at me and smile. I was so angry.”
After pleading guilty to rape and sexual assault, Bigwood was sentenced to life, with a minimum of five years, in May 2015.
The minimum tariff was a major blow to Vikki, as she knew this meant he could apply for parole.
She says: “Life should mean life.” She adds: “I felt a little bit safe knowing he was in jail, but I knew he could apply for parole after five years.”
Jailing him, Judge John Reddihough told him: “These are very serious offences. It is quite hard to think of a more serious scenario than that. I don’t think you show any remorse.”
Lack of remorse was evident when, desperate for answers, Vikki agreed to visit her father at Bullingdon prison, Oxon, in December 2018 and again at Littlehey, Cambs, in January 2022, under the restorative justice programme.
She says: “I wanted to ask him why and get some sort of understanding. “I asked, ‘Why did you do this to your own kid? And what did I do that was so bad for you to do that?’ He looked at me and shrugged.
“When I visited last, he told me he wanted sex and would do anything he had to do to get sex.
“He said it didn’t matter if I was his daughter, he didn’t care. I wanted to rip his head off there and then.”
Bigwood was refused release after a review in April, coming up to five years since he was jailed.
A Parole Board spokesman said: “We can confirm that a panel refused the release of David Bigwood following a paper review in April 2022. The panel also refused to recommend a move to an open prison.
“Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.”
In May, Vikki, who lives with boyfriend Barry Maple, 44, a fitness and skydiving instructor, was told by the Ministry of Justice’s Victim Liaison Service that her father’s release would be reviewed again next summer.
As much as she tried to resume normal life, stress intervened meaning by September Vikki had quit her job as a bouncer.
She says: “I felt sick. My anxiety went through the roof. He should never have been let out in the first place. “The justice system in this country has done nothing but fail me. He was released early from the first sentence and I wasn’t told, and now this.”
She also wasn’t aware she could appeal against his sentence.
She adds: “How can life mean five years? My nan used to say an eye for an eye and that’s how it should be.”
On sentence length, a spokesman for the judiciary said: “Any sentence given by a judge is carefully arrived at by considering the facts of the offence, the law applying to the offence and the relevant sentencing guidelines.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “[David Bigwood] will remain behind bars as long as the independent Parole Board believes he is a threat to the public.”
Under Parole Board rules, every year after serving the minimum term of five years, Bigwood will have a review.
A spokesman for the judiciary said they were not able to comment on specific cases but added: “As this is a life sentence with a minimum of five years, it means that he must serve a minimum of five years in prison before he can even be considered for parole. It isn’t a guarantee of anything.”
For Vikki, given her experiences, this means constant worry.
She says: “Even if he doesn’t get it this time, he could then apply again. “If my dad gets out, he could come and find me. I am terrified.”
